


Birthday Walk

by fairytailtwists



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Birthday, Childhood Friends, Depressed John Egbert, Depression, Happy 4/13! (Homestuck), Hurt/Comfort, Multi, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23629315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytailtwists/pseuds/fairytailtwists
Summary: It's John's 21st birthday, but he doesn't feel that special without his friends there with him. Determined to save his lonely birthday, John decides to go for a walk.
Relationships: John Egbert & Dave Strider, John Egbert & Jade Harley, John Egbert & Rose Lalonde
Kudos: 24





	Birthday Walk

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 4/13 everyone! I hope you enjoy this fic. I wanted to write something to celebrate this special day of the year!

A young man is in his bedroom. As it turns out, on April 13th, this young man is finally an adult. This new fresh adult has had quite a journey to get to here, he has lost friends, family, his dear father but also made new friends as well and his family grew along the way. This young adult is named John Egbert and today is his 21st birthday.

And he lays in bed, curled up in bundles of warm blankets staring blankly as his phone as he scrolls through the birthday messages sent by friends and dear ones. He should feel happy, right? John should be cheering enough to shake the rooftops and spending this day with friends and family. Expect, everyone is busy this year so he can’t disrupt their duties for something as insignificant as a birthday, right? No, he can’t express that he craves for them here to spend this day with him, to celebrate through more than a quick message. Maybe if he just sent a text-

“Urg!” John exclaims frustratedly, dropping his phone beside him to massage the stress marks off his face. He sits upright and the blankets fall off his as a result, introducing him to the cold morning air in his darkened bedroom, only a small stream of light peeking behind his curtain. “This isn’t an issue, they’re busy, so what? I’ve spent my birthday alone before anyway.” He said to convince himself. With a heavy sigh, John gets out of bed fully and stretches his sore shoulders and back. He’s been sitting around too much lately and it’s beginning to show. “Maybe a walk would do some good…” He mumbled to himself. Lazily he shuffled himself to the window and introduced some new light to the room. John’s eyes stun slightly as he adjusted to the light. John rubs his eyes as he walks out of his room and into his bathroom, grabbing his glasses along the way from where they sat on his unused desk. 

The bathroom lights flickered on as John gazed into the mirror's reflection. 

It was just him. Older and seemingly wiser though he definitely didn’t appear any wiser. His face was a tad rough with hair and despite the sleep, he had just awoken from his eyes were paired with heavy and dark bags. His hair was a complete mess, which is expected but the baby blue eyes John has always had seemed so distant and faded the longer he stared at himself. John knew he was staring into the mirror, yet a stranger looked back. 

John was a wreck and he definitely felt like one. Just seeing himself made him feel sluggish. 

"No. I can't spend my birthday feeling bad for myself. Time to wash up, John." he ordered himself, undressing so he can take a shower. That’s always a good start to self-care, a nice and long hot shower to melt away the messes of yesterday and start fresh with the day. He even used his nice soaps to make the day feel more special. Emerging out of the shower feeling clean, he encloses the towel around his waist and grabs his razor. “Time to be a new man, Johnny boy.” 

And so he scrapes away the scruffy hair that took a claim on his face. Sure, he definitely appeared younger now, but he felt more like himself and that was more important. 

While getting changed, he put on his most elegant shirt and pants. This was an anniversary to rejoice and he wasn’t going to ruin it wearing his rancid and dull clothes.

As he finished buttoning his shirt, John heard his phone buzz from where it sat on the desk. He picked it up seeing it was a call from Dave which meant Jade and Karkat would be there as well. John smiled as he answered. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” was cheered loudly from multiple people that he ended up removing the cell away from his ear a bit. He brought it closer when he faintly overheard Dave’s voice commenting on how annoyingly loud Karkat and Jade were. “Yo, Egbert, you there bro?” John heard Dave asking, his southern accent standing strong. 

“Hey, Dave! Jade, Karkat! Wow, I can’t believe you guys called!” John exclaimed.

Jade giggled. “Well of course silly! It’s your birthday after all!”

“Yeah dude, how does it feel to be old? I mean, you can ultimately drink now, but don’t go too crazed Egbert, drinking is the gateway to dangerous life choices like one night stands which could lead to pregnancy and that’s not a road you wanna go down that young, ya know? I mean, imagine taking care of a baby at 21. Wow, oh lord, that image is a nightmare. Imma just lock the image away in the vault of untouchables wher--” 

“Dave, shut up you absolute donkey bulge!” Yells Karkat, interrupting Dave’s ramble. 

Dave snickered. “That made no sense, Karkles.”

“How many do I have to tell you to STOP CALLING ME THAT!?” Karkat screeched. 

Jade decided to chime in. “Boys stop fighting, we called John to talk with him, not so he can hear you both argue!” 

“But I wasn-” 

“SHHH!” Jade shushed and John had to simultaneously suppress a laugh and eye-roll at their foolishness. Gosh, he missed it. The three of them had been so occupied being Gods to the denizens that they eventually didn’t have the opportunity to keep contact aside from a few messages here and there. Not to mention if they did have free time, it wasn't spent on him. Jade would ordinarily take care of her growing and tending to new plants in her garden, Dave and Karkat were a thing now, which was great for them! John thought they made a perfect chaotic couple but unfortunately, that meant their spare moments were spent on each other. John hadn’t heard any of Dave’s random nonsense rambles in months. It was ridiculously pleasant to hear again. “So John, any big plans today?” Jade asked. 

“Heh, well…” Of course, she had to ask the one question he hoped they didn’t ask. “I mean, kinda? I’m going for a walk, I guess. Just to get out of the house for once, it’s totally been a while.” He laughed dryly. 

“Oh,” Jade said, appearing upset with his answer. “Are you going with anyone? At all?” 

“Eh, no. Not really.” John told her. “Just me.” 

There was silence on the opposite end, which caused John to be a tad nervous. 

“John, that’s depressing,” Karkat told him straight out. John heard a muffled slap follow it. “OW! What the fuck Jade!?” 

“That’s harsh to say, Karkat!” She acknowledged. 

Dave sighed. “Kat has a point…” 

“Dave!” She bellowed. 

“How come you aren’t spending today with Crocker? She is your birthday twin after all.” 

John gave a small exhale. “Jane had plans with Jake, Dirk, and Roxy this year and I didn’t want to interrupt their celebration.” 

“Oh, what about Serket or Terezi?” 

“Vriska is busy going on some sorta character-building adventure? Something about acting more like her ancestor, to which Terezi obviously joined. They’ve been gone for several months now.” John revealed. 

"Lalonde?"

"Is busy with Kanaya."

“Damn…” Dave replied. “Sorry ‘bout that. And that we aren’t there either. We’ve just been bu-”

“Busy, I know. I understand dude, don’t worry.” John told him. “I’m all good here. But I, uh, got to go. I need to eat before I go out. So…” 

Dave cleared his throat. “Yeah yeah, totally. Uh, see you, John.” 

“See you Egbert.” Karkat said. 

“Bye John! I’ll text later, okay?” Jade told. 

John nods his head despite being on call. “Yeah, bye.”

And he hung up. 

“Well, that was demeaning. So long to a fresh start on the day.” John murmured to himself. "No, this day can still be saved! Yeah! Just gotta eat something and go on that walk." 

With his newfound determination, he made his way downstairs to be met with a messy living room. Clothes have dropped themselves on almost every surface along with food crumbs. It also smelled of sweat and mould. "Oh, wonderful." He groaned. 

Stepping over the mayhem, he made it to the kitchen which thankfully wasn't so bad because he rarely used it as he normally orders food. John didn't bother opening the fridge, remembering how empty it was and alternatively used day-old bread and popped it into the toaster. When it finished, John spread butter on it and declared it breakfast as he perched on the counter to devour his food. John deposited his plate in the sink when he finished and decided to get outdoors immediately or else he'd convince himself to never leave. With his cell phone, wallet, and keys in hand, he locks up and turns to face the welcoming world.

He was faced with fresh and bright nature. The air smelt of freshly fallen rain, suggesting it rained throughout the night. He didn't mind the scent and actually enjoyed it, it felt nostalgic to him. It reminded him of Rose. He hadn't spoken to her in some time but he understood why. Being a newlywed wasn't easy and he noticed when Rose did contact him. She always appeared exhausted but incredibly happy, and he was glad. He beamed at the thought and commenced his birthday walk. Observing all the trees and plants reminded him of Jade, his ecto-sister. John remembers when Jade used to send pictures of her plants to him back when they were 13. She was so proud of the plants that were developing well or that seemed beautiful. John was pleased to just see her happy. His thoughts were disrupted by a herd of ravens soaring in the sky aimlessly. Raven always reminded John of Dave. John reminisces Dave telling him his fascination with birds, how they were able to fly around and weren't held in one place. How he admired they were free. That confused John before, why Dave cared about birds that way. Now that he's older, he appreciates why. And John is delighted to see that Dave can fly free wherever he wishes. 

As he strolled about absentmindedly, John floundered upon on local dog park. Welcoming the playful atmosphere, he relaxes on a nearby bench and drowns in the sun's warmth. He takes a deep breath in and takes in this feeling. 

John didn't recognize he was crying until his body began to tremble from his sobs. He buries his face in his hands, pushing his glasses into his hair. John tried to be silent as he wept on the park bench but he couldn't help himself as he whimpered helplessly. God, he was miserable and he knew it. Every departing day everyone moved on but he was living in the past, yearning for everything to be how it was before Sburb. Back when he was a 13-year-old boy with zero reasonability or worries in the world and back when he was close with Dave, Jade, and Rose. Back when his dad was alive to wish him a happy birthday with a homemade cake and a gift. Back to the days where everything made sense and where he didn't feel so broken inside. He was exhausted from waking up and wishing he didn't, that he could stay unconscious and exist in his dreams endlessly. He needed to feel like himself again, to BE himself again. 

Why can't he be that 13-year-old again? 

John was so engrossed in his pitiful sobbing he didn't realize someone was around him till he felt a hand tenderly stroke his back. Baby blue eyes peered up to assemble three distinct figures surrounding him. "D-dave? Rose? Jade?" His hoarse voice called them all out as he looked to them with curious eyes. Weren't they all busy? Why are they here? "Wha-" 

"You know, if you said something John, we would have been here in an instant," Rose articulated as she rested beside him. She appeared so much more mature and wiser. Her blonde hair was kept back with a headband and she wore a fashionable outfit, most likely designed by Kanaya. She gave him a sympathetic smile, encouraging him to speak comfortably. 

"You guys were busy, didn't want to interrupt you," he acknowledged honestly. 

Jade, who sat to his left, dragged John into a tight hug. "Oh John, we always will have time for you! Gosh, I'm so glad we called or else we wouldn't have known how you were this way feeling at all!" John could hear her sniffling, implying she was crying. 

"Yeah, John." Dave eventually spoke, kneeling to appear eye level with John to which he was astounded to actually see Dave's eyes, his shades hung on his tee-shirt. Red eyes analyzed John sadly. "Dude, we might be busy a lot, but that doesn't mean you are less important to us. We are all friends, right?" John nodded, not feeling confident to talk without tearing up. "Then just ask us to hang out, bro." 

"And we will do our upmost to be there," Rose added, leaning close to John and envelope him in a side-hug. 

"Always!" Jade cried out, tightening her hug. 

John tried to contain his tears, but when Dave leaned in and hugged them all together, he broke. John lowered his head into Dave's shoulder and sobs unconcernedly as he embraced his friends back with a hug, clutching on tight to them as if they were dream about to wash away. 

But they didn't disappear. They stayed with John, spending the remainder of the day with him and even spent the night over at his place. 

And when John went to bed that night, on April 13th, surrounded by his dear friends, he couldn't wait to wake up. 


End file.
